Thank you, ArmednHammered. I actually went through most of the grieving process before she died, which was actually one of the harder parts of it because when I realized that's what I was doing, I felt incredibly guilty. I have no idea why, but I did. At this point there really is just trying to remember what "normal" life is like again. After over 10 years of caring for her, about half of those on each end of it being full-time, hands on type care, that's going to be hard to remember how to do. We'll get there, though.

Greetings All!!I've pretty much been just lurking for the past few months. (Had a bizzie!)I also, recently... 'fell over the line' of crazy-cat-lady.I went from my 3...to my 4....still on the *CCL - in training" side....to being the slave to a blended clowder of 9. That's nine.

I am SO proud of this photo.It took them only 6 weeks to train me to ...roll out the rug (aka trough), ring the bell to 'awaken/arouse' them, and get 8 bowls filled with their treat of gooshey foods. ( I split 3 cans 8 ways... and give the 'old man' a tsp &½ of baby food)

OlderGuy:Greetings All... TGIC !.... Just got home from an AC repair.... 7 hours worth.... replaced the outdoor unit.. compressor burnt on the old one, lots of details to be done first.... he has cooling now... was 97 out there.... think I sweated 10 pounds.... Neat video.. great fireman.. those guys are awesome ! Hope we have a sad- free weekend.. last weekend was rough.. my condolences to those who lost buddies...

Can't guarantee sad free but I can guarantee grace free. Cosmo tripped me when I got home so I'm all black and blue.

Been a really long week in the basement of Mordor. Told the boss I'd had enough for a week and left at 2:00.Went out and found some of the "Farking Wheaton w00tstout" made by Drew, Wil Wheaton and Greg Koch of Stone Brewery. I have to say, it's pretty damn tasty. It's dark, thick, hasn't been hopped to death and best of all it's 13% alcohol, what's not to like? I grabbed three of the 24 Oz. bottles and I don't expect them to last the night. ;-) It's good enough that I'll buy a case if my local store has one available./not a paid spokesman etc. etc.

Please excuse me while I go whip up some chili for dinner so I can do the following later....

maynerdkitty:lilyspad: maynerdkitty: And some entertainment for the kitties.LinkThe biddies came in the mail on Wendsday morning, one did not survive the trip but the rest are looking really healthy and strong. My son identified the free exotic breed as a blue chochin. A large breed with feathers all the way down its legs, they will cover its feet when it is grown. I have named it Frodo.[fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net image 850x637]

Don't they tell you what they are sending??? Or is it supposed to be a surprise?

The free one is a surprise chick. I think they are just finding a way to get rid of excess roosters, I will be very surprised if Frodo is a hen. But it is fun to try and guess what they sent. My son was able to get the breed right away because the chicks of this breed are so distinctive. It is a very calm chick compared to the others, he kind of looks like a little penguin next to the others. I moved them into the little house with my old crippled hen Suzy, she just gave me a WTF look when I started putting them in with her. She pecked at the few that came near her but did not make any effort to attack them. In a few days she should start to mother them. She fostered King George and Esmeralda for me when they were biddies.

I took this frog from Robin this morning...Robin growled at me! Yeah, he likes frogs, was getting ready to freaking eat it! The others like lizards. I didn't realize it was quite this green when I tossed it outside this morning.

Spinnyr, Koa is a handsome kitteh and no, I do not think he wants to share either. I've always like Abyssinians. He's got some neat coloring. Most of the Abs I've seen around here are the Ruddy variety.

Real Women Drink Akvavit:Thanks much to everyone for the love and support.tigerose: Real Women Drink Akvavit I am sorry for your loss. She joins the ancestors, there to feast and tell tales for all eternity.

Hugs to you and yours.

She's probably one of my disir now, just the "Why is it always so dark in here? Open the blinds and get some light in here!" or "you can buy clothes that AREN'T black, you know. What's wrong with pink?" or "I don't like that man. He needs a hair cut. Are those tattoos? Dear Jesus! Is he GERMAN?!?" variety instead of the helpful advice variety. LOL! I love my Grandma and her stubborn self. Actually, she was Lutheran, so they're probably swilling coffee and trying to convince the big dude/dudette/whatevers may or may not be there/wherever to go easy on the Heathen granddaughter.

For those unfamiliar with disir, think "ancestral mothers", but the original Germanic tribes version (Scandinavians being one of the original Germanic tribes and blah, blah, blah).

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So sorry for your loss. Hugs for both you and your mom. And scritches for GoGo Beastie.

I can almost hear my own family members asking those sorts of questions except most of them are Catholic. The thought of them chatting up the great sky wizard(ess) makes me smile.

GoGo Beastie only does that when I'm at least halfway up the stairs. Any less and it is no longer a proper homicide attempt, I guess. You OK 'cept the lovely new color accessories?

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Why is it they will race you up the steps but never down?Biscuit and Nate (especially Biscuit) must ALWAYS be the first to the top of the stairs. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't give you a head start.

The Ice Queen:maynerdkitty: lilyspad: maynerdkitty: And some entertainment for the kitties.LinkThe biddies came in the mail on Wendsday morning, one did not survive the trip but the rest are looking really healthy and strong. My son identified the free exotic breed as a blue chochin. A large breed with feathers all the way down its legs, they will cover its feet when it is grown. I have named it Frodo.[fbcdn-sphotos-e-a.akamaihd.net image 850x637]

Don't they tell you what they are sending??? Or is it supposed to be a surprise?

The free one is a surprise chick. I think they are just finding a way to get rid of excess roosters, I will be very surprised if Frodo is a hen. But it is fun to try and guess what they sent. My son was able to get the breed right away because the chicks of this breed are so distinctive. It is a very calm chick compared to the others, he kind of looks like a little penguin next to the others. I moved them into the little house with my old crippled hen Suzy, she just gave me a WTF look when I started putting them in with her. She pecked at the few that came near her but did not make any effort to attack them. In a few days she should start to mother them. She fostered King George and Esmeralda for me when they were biddies.

[farm6.staticflickr.com image 500x333]King George and Li-Ion

Would that cause troubles with King George as Frodo gets older?

There is always the slim chance that Frodo is a girl, if he decides to be a roo my son has dibs on him. When George came in the garage he went up to the cage and checked out the little ones. They looked so small next to him. They all stopped peeping and stood in awe as the looked them them over.I moved them into the new little hen house with old Suzy last evening. Today she is keeping an eye on them but they are not too sure of the giant chicken in their world. Hatchery chicks have never seen an adult bird. They have much to learn.

Here's the 10 yr old Jellicle, Master Thomas....aka, the hoover.He's got the most awesome-est eyebrows! They're all kinky/curly!

Got to be *the* cutest pink nose....evar!

Poor bebee... got his eye bonked at some point during the first "2-days all-together" melee that was going on here. I 'fixed' it with a cold, wet gauze pad & he's been my best bud ever since!

Just realized that I don't have any pix of Thomas standing up. Actually, he doesn't do much of that. The vet (Sainted.... from Caring Hands, here in Vegas) that came out here (yes...to the house...yay!)...said, "No, he's not big. No, he's not overweight. He's fat."Well...allriiiightyyy, then.

The Ice Queen:OlderGuy: Greetings All... TGIC !.... Just got home from an AC repair.... 7 hours worth.... replaced the outdoor unit.. compressor burnt on the old one, lots of details to be done first.... he has cooling now... was 97 out there.... think I sweated 10 pounds.... Neat video.. great fireman.. those guys are awesome ! Hope we have a sad- free weekend.. last weekend was rough.. my condolences to those who lost buddies...

Can't guarantee sad free but I can guarantee grace free. Cosmo tripped me when I got home so I'm all black and blue.

The Evil Bastid Kitteh

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See the evil look, he's an evil bastid

Fred, for whatever reason, likes to walk between my feet... have tripped over him several times.. still does it.. keeps me alert !.. neighbors think it,s funny... haven't fell down... yet... thank goodness for good balance.....

yobbery:Real Women Drink Akvavit: The Ice Queen: Cosmo tripped me when I got home so I'm all black and blue.

GoGo Beastie only does that when I'm at least halfway up the stairs. Any less and it is no longer a proper homicide attempt, I guess. You OK 'cept the lovely new color accessories?

[assets.dogtime.com image 400x327]

Why is it they will race you up the steps but never down?Biscuit and Nate (especially Biscuit) must ALWAYS be the first to the top of the stairs. It wouldn't be so bad if they didn't give you a head start.[www.smugmug.com image 500x195]

Don't have the stairs, but no-one will ever beat Trip to the kitchen.. not possible..

Eli lurvs to race me down stairs in the moaning. He is fast! Last time I stepped on a cat in the stairway I fell one flight, twisted my knee, had a ride wif teh E-squad..they absolutely would not believe I was 100 percent sober!

catmandu:Many of you may remember when this photo went viral (man comforting his arthritic, geriatric dog in the waters of Lake Superior because floating like that gave the dog relief):

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Schoep, the dog, went over the Rainbow bridge on Wednesday at the age of 20. His servant, John, received so much money in donations for his care that he is now using the extra to help "30 or 40 Schoeps" who live with low income families in the north Wisconsin area get medical care (including geriatric care and spaying/neutering of the youngsters). John credits Schoep with saving his life when he was suicidal and wants to do what he can to help others keep their pets.

I am so sad for his loss. I remember the story well! Thanks for sharing that with us.

My day has been really crazy (no internet, then tech support, then internet, then phone calls, then landlord visit!) I am behind on catching up on the thread. Will do my best!!! Might get caught up in time for bed....

vudutek:Real Women Drink Akvavit: Thank you to my Caturday family and all the other Farkers who have given me tons of support, lots of hugs and ear skritches for teh kittehs and pics of things to make me smile. My grandma loved you guize too, even if she didn't understand most of it. lol!

Now, on wit teh kritter pics![data.whicdn.com image 500x768]

{{{{{{{HUGS}}}}}}}From all of us in the vudutek clowder.

And a kitteh:[sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net image 850x479]This is Pride, hell be joining the clowder this evening!

quantum_jellyroll:predle:This is me trying to figure out Windows 8. About the only thing I've been able to figure out is how to post to Caturday.]

After two weeks and numerous installs, I'm pretty good at Win 7.I even have it looking familiar!No, you cannot have!

I lived with Vista for 5 years, I'll figure out Windows 8.

OlderGuy:sherpa18: predle: This is me trying to figure out Windows 8. About the only thing I've been able to figure out is how to post to Caturday.

There is an add-on available that will restore your start/menu button so that you can find stuff. As I don't use 8 myself, I have no experience with it, but I have heard good things about it.

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Don't know for a fact, but have heard that service pack 1 for Win8 is out... supposedly has a fix for the menu issue.... couldn't find it in MS d/l center....

I checked on microsoft's website and there aren't any SP's available for Win8 yet - I'll keep checking. I've lived with Vista for five years. If I can do that I think I'll probably be able to deal with Win8. All I need is time and patience, neither of which I have an overabundance of right now

Is that all? When I checked my balcony thermometer an hour or so ago, it was still 101° :o(

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Was 97 here today.. had planned to hit Busch Gardens tomorrow.. forecast of 96 + possible TStorms.. will reschedule for another weekend... humidity yesterday was so bad you could see it......

We've been in the 90's with oppressive humidity for a few days. A front just moved through about 2 hours ago and temps are now in the mid 70's. Still humid but It feels great.[www.smugmug.com image 112x151]

Front should arrive Saturday sometime.. by Tuesday we should be in the mid 80s.. TStorms are forecast to arrive also..... next Saturday looks better... now... things will change.. will wait and see.....